Recent Sculpture by John Richardson

Exhibit Dates: September 20 to October 17

Opening Reception: September 20,
7:00 p.m.

HANCOCK, MI - "John Richardson: Recent Sculpture" will be
featured at the Finlandia University Gallery, located in the Finnish American
Heritage Center, Hancock, September 20 to October 17, 2012.

An opening reception for the artist will take place at the
gallery Thursday, September 20, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. The reception is free
and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

John Richardson's sculpture has been described as a "visual
koan," a visual Zen Buddhist riddle.
Although he did not arrive at this description himself, the portrayal
captures Richardson's propensity to shift perceptions of how one views reality.

"At my best, I hope to create a sculpture that shifts
perceptions of other objects in the world, even if only very slightly; a
sculpture that is both interdependent and independent of me," says Richardson.

Richardson's sculptures challenge conventional notions of
reality by introducing forms that cannot be regarded as seamless components of
ordinary experience. His work then
becomes a metaphor for principles of reality that reach beyond the interests of
a single artist.

Richardson works in a variety of media, including cast and
welded metals, rubber, glass, wood, plastic, and stone. His sculpture explores
the contemporary experience of space as it is influenced by the predominance of
mediated images, screens, and communication technologies.

"My sculpture often exists fully in space, in contrast to a
traditional relief sculpture that adorns an architectural surface," notes
Richardson. "Unlike a traditional relief, my art has at least two dominant
sides, although it is compacted as if in two-and-a-half dimensions, rather than
fully embodied in three."

Richardson has participated in more than 50 national group
exhibitions, most recently in summer 2012 at the Causey Contemporary Gallery,
New York City. His numerous solo shows include the University of
Minnesota-Morris in March 2012.

Richardson's work is held in numerous private and public
collections, including the Michigan Legacy Art Park, Thompsonville; Xiadu Park,
Yanqing, China; the Open Air Museum of Steel Sculpture, Coalbrookdale, England;
and the Lumsden School, Lumsden, Scotland.

Richardson earned master of arts and master of fine arts
degrees in sculpture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a bachelor of
arts from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma Wash. He teaches at Wayne State
University, Detroit, where he is the area coordinator for sculpture and chair
of the department.

The Finlandia University Gallery is in the Finnish American
Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursday 8:00 a.m.to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 12 p.m.
to 4 p.m., or by appointment.